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Many gamblers believe that slots are a game completely based on luck. This is not completely true as you will see with our slot strategy. However there is no winning slot strategy, you can only increase your odds. The odds you get when playing slots are similar to those for roulette but the rewards are better. With our slot strategy you will learn the following topics:

The strategies that do not work, don’t waste your time

The slot strategy that WILL increase your odds

The online casinos that give you the best odds and why

How to play slots

Slot Strategy

A good slot strategy will help you increase your odds of winning but there are some myths about slot strategy that do not work. Do not waste your time with the following myths:

Counting spins: Slots do not have a memory, the only memory they have is your balance. Counting spins are completely useless because every spin is completely random and independently from the previous spins.

Slots pay more during a certain time of day: There is absolutely no way of knowing how slots machines are programmed. When believing that you will have better odds when you play at 3:00 pm or 5:00 am you are only fooling yourself. Slots payoff completely random and you can hit a jackpot at any time of the day.

Now that you know what slot strategies are useless I will show you what you can do to increase your odds.

Make your money last as long as possible. Slot machines are supposed to be fun and the more time you can spend with them, the more fun it will be to you. So, start by putting in the smallest denomination of coins possible, and then if you are winning, increase that amount. Remember if you risk less you can play longer. The longer you can play without risking any additional money of your own, the better your chance that you will line up that winning combination for a big payout.

Decide what your goals are for playing the slots. If you hope to win a huge jackpot, then you should look for a slot machine with a progressive jackpot that can reach well over $100,000. If you are simply looking to play for a while and would rather win smaller to medium size winnings more frequently then choose a slot machine that does not have a progressive jackpot, but one with bonus rounds that allow for more frequent wins.

If your goal is to go for the jackpot then in order to win the jackpot, you must play the maximum coin bet. Again, choose a slot machine with a denomination that you can afford.

Most slots reward you for playing the maximum number of coins. For example, the jackpot may pay 2000 coins with 2 coins played, but 4000 coins when 3 coins are played. If you don’t feel comfortable playing the maximum coins you might consider moving down to a machine that accepts lower-value coins so you can play the maximum. For example, instead of playing one coin at a dollar machine, play the maximum number of coins at a quarter machine. Some online casinos let you play for nickels. If you’re playing a progressive machine, remember that you’ll probably have to bet the maximum number of coins to be eligible to win the big jackpot.

Only play the best paying slots. Look for slots that payout between 95 and 99 percent and only play those. Players should note that machines that require $1 and higher machines usually payout 95-99%. Statistical research data indicate that $5 or higher machines have the highest percentage payout range. The range starts at 93.7% and goes up to 98.5%. Remember – these are ranges and averages, not absolute values. The next highest payouts come from $1 machines followed by 50-cent machines, 25-cent machines, and 5-cent machines. You will often see signs that say “Up to 98% payback” indicating that they have loose machines. This means that over the long term the slot will pay out 98 cents of every dollar that is played. The “up to” is the key point here. It means that a casino could have only one machine set to pay back at 98% to comply with the sign. If you find an area of slots with a sign without the “up to” you may want to give it a try.

Know the odds. The result of each spin of the wheels is determined by a computer program that generates random results. This is true for both online slots games and slot machines found in hotel casinos. The machines can easily be set by the casino to generate whatever payout they choose. For example, they may set it to 95%. That means for every 100 dollars bet, the machine will, on average, pay out 95 dollars. The other five dollars goes to the casino and that’s how they make their profit. Of course, that’s just on average. It’s possible, if Lady Luck is on your side, to make hundreds or even thousands of dollars with just one spin.

Within casinos, the general rule is that the easier a game is to understand, the worse the odds are.
This is never truer than with slots, the simplest of games to play, you simply need to press a button to see if you have won. If you don’t want to do this even, you can use the autoplay feature which will spin the machine a set number of times for you.

However, as slots tend to have the highest house edge, and therefore the lowest payout for players, you will not find any quicker way to lose your money unless you get lucky.

How to Play Slots

Most slots in an online casino use Coins. You can choose the value of each coin you enter per spin and the number of coins you play each spin – normally up to a maximum of 5.

To get the total cost of the spin, you simply multiply the coin value by the number of coins played.
For example, if you choose to play with a €0.10 coin and play 5 coins, your total bet will be €0.50 – 10 cents x 5.
If you choose to play with a €0.20 coin but only 2 coins per bet, you will have a total spin worth €0.40, even though the coin value is higher than when you had it at €0.10.

As a general rule, we would advise you to use maximum coins wherever possible, even if it means dropping down a coin level.

Some machines allow you to choose the number of win lines you bet, we would only ever recommend playing the maximum – adjust the coin value and/or coin number if you wish to adjust the cost of each spin.

Therefore, when playing slots:

1. Choose the value of your coin
2. Choose the number of coins you wish to bet
3. Choose the number of lines you wish to play, if applicable. As mentioned, we strongly suggest you leave this at the maximum

Variations

There are many different variations of slot machines and many online casinos have several hundred to choose from.
The very basic ones have just a few win lines and no real options for the player, it is simply a case of pushing the start button and hoping.

Most have between 30 and 50 win lines and at least one or two features which can either be triggered by getting 3 or more of a certain symbol or at random.

Below is an example of one of the most basic, a 1-win line slot with no features.

This used to be popular back in the day when slots first came out, but the majority of players now prefer games with more win lines and features as they feel they get better value and entertainment for their money.

A more recent feature of slot games is the win all ways slots. These don’t have win lines, but any combination of symbols on the 1st 3 or more reels will win. A standard 3 by 5 slot paying out like this has 243 ways to win. These are proving popular with players especially some like Thunderstruck 2, shown below, which has a feature which remembers you the next time you log in.

The advantage to this is that the first 5 times you win a feature you get the lowest one. After 5 times, you are offered a choice of 2 features, after qualifying 10 times you get a choice of 3 and after qualifying 15 times, you have a choice of 4 features, each with a varying number of free spins and added extras.

Remember that as long as you play on the same site, if you reach a certain level on the feature, the next time you log in and play, it will remember you and offer you the respective features when you qualify.

Whilst most machines pay only left to right, there are some that add to the excitement and win lines by paying right to left as well.

This gives you an opportunity to win on each spin even if the first 3 reels bring you nothing. Please bear in mind that it doesn’t increase your chances of winning in the long term as the payout percentage will still be the same, but it does at least offer a few extra chances of prolonging your gameplay.

Another type of slot to watch out for is the Progressive Jackpot Slots. These tend to have lower payout percentages than other slots as a very small % of each spin is put towards a large jackpot which can often have life-changing amounts of money.

Say what you will about slots and having one of the lowest returns of casino games, but the largest progressive jackpot payout was around $24,000,000 by a player from Finland back in 2013 on the Mega Fortune slot.

If you think you need to bet big in order to win this amount, think again. His total stake was $0.25 – 25 cents for a $24million win.

There are no other casino games that can offer these odds, however unlikely it is to come in…

Conclusion

There can be very few casino games that offer more entertainment for your money than slots, with all the flashing lights, loud and dramatic music and features.

However, there are very few casino games, if any, with a lower payout percentage.
If your aim at playing online or offline at a casino is to have fun and have a very small chance of winning life-changing amounts, give slots a go by all means.

However, if your main aim is to try and maximize your chances of winning a bit and walking out ahead of the casino, slots probably aren’t for you as there are plenty of games with a better chance of winning.